How to Cite an AI Audio Overview
Updated October 2026 · Reviewed October 2026
Citing one of those AI "podcasts" — a NotebookLM Audio Overview where two AI hosts discuss your sources? Here's the format in APA, MLA, and Chicago.
Treat it as AI-generated audio: Google as author, a description, NotebookLM as the source, and the [AI-generated audio] label.
The format
APA does not currently publish a dedicated example for this exact source type. The format below applies APA's current AI citation principles to this source.
What APA does publish is two worked AI forms: an AI tool — Google. (2025). Gemini 3 Flash [Large language model]. https://gemini.google.com — and an AI chat, which adds the day and a title and moves the tool's name after the brackets. See APA's AI references examples page and its reference-formats post and judge for yourself. The entry below is APA's chat form element for element — company, full date, a description in the title slot, a bracketed label, the tool and the link. What is ours is the label itself: [AI-generated audio] appears in no APA example. APA permits the swap in so many words — "other descriptions are possible; use the description that best fits the type of AI model or tool used", and, of the chat form, "Adapt the wording within square brackets as needed" — so treat [AI-generated audio] as the wording Citation[Z] chose under that permission, and use your instructor's if they prefer another.
Google → date → description → [AI-generated audio] → NotebookLM → link. Build it in the generator under Manual Entry → AI-generated audio.
Google. (2026, March 5). Audio Overview: The French Revolution [AI-generated audio]. NotebookLM. https://notebooklm.google.com
In-text(Google, 2026)
"Audio Overview: The French Revolution." NotebookLM, Google, 5 Mar. 2026, https://notebooklm.google.com.
In-text("Audio Overview: The French")
Google. "Audio Overview: The French Revolution." NotebookLM. March 5, 2026. https://notebooklm.google.com.
In-text(Google 2026)
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Citation style
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (2020). The 7th dropped the publisher location and the "Retrieved from" prefix that the 6th required.
What an Audio Overview is — and why citing it matters
An Audio Overview is NotebookLM's signature feature: it turns your uploaded documents into a lifelike audio discussion between two AI "hosts." It sounds like a podcast, but there are no human presenters and no real interview — it's machine-generated from your materials, which is why it's cited as AI-generated audio, not as a normal podcast.
Students increasingly listen to these to review readings, then quote a point from them — so a correct citation matters.
Audio-Overview-specific tips
- Not a podcast. A real podcast has human hosts and a publisher; an Audio Overview is AI-generated, so it uses the [AI-generated audio] label, not [Audio podcast episode].
- Author is Google, with NotebookLM as the source/tool.
- Describe what it covers in the title slot (e.g., the topic of your sources).
- Cite the underlying source for facts. If the point you're quoting actually comes from a document you uploaded, cite that document too.
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Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- Is a NotebookLM Audio Overview a podcast?
- No. It sounds like one, but it's AI-generated with no human hosts — so cite it as AI-generated audio (Google, NotebookLM, [AI-generated audio]), not as a podcast.
- Who is the author?
- Google, with NotebookLM as the tool. There are no human presenters to credit.
- Do I also cite the sources it discusses?
- Yes, if you're using a specific fact — cite the original document you uploaded, since that's the verifiable source.